In the Dead of Winter
by Eirini
Summary: If there was anything that could grow in winter, it was love.
1. Falling in Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series**

* * *

><p>It was harvest time as Minerva set about tending to the wheat while Hermione explored the meadow around her. Minerva had given her a little paint pot and she set about finding flowers of all kinds and painting them beautiful, lively colors. Bright yellow, daffodils, blood-red roses, deep purple violets, the meadow was alive with color. Every once in awhile, Minerva would look up and tell her not to go to far, and to stay in her line of sight. Hermione would nod and go back to painting and exploring.<p>

Her simple white summer dress swirled around her as she danced through the meadow.

* * *

><p>Deep down in the earth, the King of the Underworld sat in his throne and watched, fascinated as Hermione explored, singing softly as she painted.<p>

He'd been watching for a long time, falling slowly in love with the lively, innocent girl in the world above him. He watched every day as the wind caught in her curly brown tresses and swirled around her dress. He watched as she painted with small, delicate hands. She looked breakable, and yet he knew that she was stronger than she let on.

Watching her, he knew that it was only a matter of time before someone swept her off her feet and took her away from him and that gave him a terrible surge of anger. To him, no one deserved the beautiful princess before him.

He knew him of all people would never deserve her, but he had watched her for so long, he knew that he would at least know how to treat her. He was King of the Underworld and he had all the jewels in the world. He could give her whatever she wanted and she would be treated like the Queen she was always meant to be.

With a smile, he began to set about a plan to win her heart.


	2. The Unwilling Queen of the Underworld

It was another day of exploring in the meadow for Hermione. The other day, she had seen a bunch of lilies that she was determined to find and paint. So, with her painted pot, she began her trek, making sure to reassure her mother that she would not go too far.

As she walked, she began to hum contentedly, noting all the flowers she had painted before. However, before she could reach her lilies, something caught her eye.

Stopping, she looked around, finally spotting a bush with shiny forest green leaves and blood-red berries. She walked over to it and circled it, like an art critic examining a painting. She looked at it at all angles, contemplating whether she liked it or not before she finally decided that she did not.

She grabbed the bush and pulled, but it was stubborn and remained where it was. Losing her balance slightly, as she had not expected such a stubborn plant, she grew slightly angry. There and never been a plant who hadn't come out easily, so setting her feet on the ground, she pulled again and finally, the plant came lose with a bunch of dirt covered roots and a hole in the ground.

Her sense of triumph and victory was short-lived however, as the hole soon began to grow bigger and bigger. Slowly, she began to back away as suddenly, a black carriage drawn by equally black horses with blood-red eyes — the exact same shade as the berries on the plant — came out. A man with silvery-blond hair was controlling the carriage. Hermione, frightened, opened her mouth to scream, but did not have the chance as the man swept her up with one strong arm around the waist into the carriage before turning back and disappearing into the widened hole.

All that was left of the scene as the hole closed in on itself was the discarded bush and Hermione's precious painted pot.

Hermione struggled with the man as they made their way down, down, down...

She had figured out immediately who the man was when he had come out of the hole.

It was Draco, King of the Underworld.

Draco, frustrated with her struggles, brought her into a bedroom and threw her down on the bed. She glared up at him with a hint of fear in her chocolate brown eyes.

He chuckled, "I'm not going to hurt you, princess."

Hermione breathed in deeply, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart, "If you're not going to hurt me, then what are you going to do to me?"

He sat next to her and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and said in a deep purr, steel gray eyes locked on her, "Why, I'm going to make you my Queen of course."

* * *

><p>The sky was beginning to darken and Minerva was getting worried.<p>

Hermione had not come back to her. While this was not unusual, she had never stayed out this late, and she was not in any of her usual places.

Minerva then remembered how Hermione had talked about a bunch of lilies she was going to paint that day and so she set off, recalling the details of their whereabouts. She hurried along, but as she walked, something caught her eye. She stopped and saw something that broke her heart and made fear and dread course through her body.

There, laying carelessly on the ground and overturned, was Hermione's beloved painted pot. She heard some crows gossiping and she immediately walked over to them.

"Where is she? Who has taken my Hermione?" she asked desperately.

A crow cawed, "A man came out of the ground and swept her off underground."

Underground? It couldn't be...

It was then that Minerva noticed the forest green bush with the blood-red berries and her suspicions were confirmed. She cried at the thought of Hermione being trapped with the horrible king of the dead.

She looked up as she heard distant laughter and turned to see a boy laughing at seeing an adult cry. Angered, she turned him into a lizard. Almost immediately, a bird swooped down and ate him.

Without any remorse, she left to go to Mount Olympus.

* * *

><p>"Your Queen?" Hermione asked indignantly.<p>

"Of course, princess. I wouldn't have it any other way." Draco smiled down at her, but it seemed sinister to her.

She spat, "I'll never love you. You're vile if you think you can just trap me in here until I fall in love with you. There's no way in hell I'm about to get Stockholm Syndrome over you. You're like winter, mother always says nothing can grow in winter and it brings nothing but death."

Angered, Draco swooped down and grabbed her wrists in a tight hold, "I wouldn't count on that, _princess_."

Hermione let a whimper of pain and he quickly dropped her wrists. He could already see the lily white skin begin to bruise. Horrified, he swept out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Cornelius, he's done it! Draco's taken Hermione, you have to do something!" Minerva pleaded.<p>

"I'm sorry, Minerva," Cornelius said without a hint of sympathy, "but there's simply nothing we can do about it."

"Nothing you can do? Nothing you can do?" it was then that Minerva noticed the new lightning bolt that Cornelius had and immediately knew that Draco had bribed him. There truly would be nothing she could do.

* * *

><p>"What do I do?" Draco asked Blaise. Blaise was the boy who had been turned into a lizard by Minerva. Draco had instantly taken a liking to him. The enemy of his enemy was, after all, his friend.<p>

Blaise contemplated his answer before replying, "I think you should start being kind and gentle to her. Girls like that. They like to feel special, so whatever she wants, you give to her."

"And what do girls want?"

"Well, they typically like jewels and gowns, try doing that. Then make her a throne. If she's going to be Queen here, you should at least get her a throne right beside yours."


	3. Falling for Temptation

Over the next few months, Draco showered Hermione in jewels and gowns, but she pushed each of them away. When he asked her why, she replied that she had no need for jewels and gowns, and that they were impractical. So he tried a different tactic.

The next day, he took her to the throne room, and, right beside his was a gold throne with flowers carved delicately around it. The seat was made of pure white velvet, to represent her innocence.

She hadn't liked that either, replying that she wouldn't stay here long, her mother would be coming for her any day now.

Draco was starting to get frustrated. He had tried everything. Tempting her to eat her favorite foods, showering her with jewels and gowns, and building her own throne. He went to see Blaise again.

"Grow a garden for her. That's probably the only reason she wants to go home. She misses the meadow."

And so Draco did just that. He had to admit, he was slightly proud of the end result.

And she said nothing grows in winter.

The next day he found her exploring the grounds. She was dangerously close to where the garden was.

"Come on," he said eagerly, "I want to show you something."

She stiffened as he stepped closer to her and squirmed when he wrapped one arm around her waist and put his other hand over her eyes. He paid her no heed as he guided her to where the garden was.

When they finally reached the garden, he uncovered her eyes and watched delightedly as her eyes widened in shock and lit up at seeing a garden. She turned and he was happily surprised when her eyes softened upon seeing him and she smiled, whispering a "thank you" to him before turning to her garden.

He watched for a little while as she explored her garden, leaning forward curiously when she found a plant that she was not familiar with, and lighting up when, at the end of the garden, she found a bunch of lilies, the ones she had been meaning to paint that day he had kidnapped her. Beside the bunch, was a small delicately made ceramic pot filled with paint. He smiled as she practically squealed with glee and walked back to his palace, thinking of how he should go from there.

* * *

><p>Hermione felt conflicted.<p>

After Draco had kidnapped her, he had a sudden change of attitude. He began to shower her with all kinds of gifts: jewels and gowns and even going as far as having the servants cook her favorite foods that drove her wild with hunger.

She had refused each gift one at a time and though she felt small satisfaction in seeing the frustration in his eyes each time she refused, she couldn't help feeling flattered when he would present her with a new gift, explaining the significance.

She hated that her heart would flutter when she would ask him the purpose of the gifts and he would charmingly reply, "Just because."

And so she rejected each of his advances because she _could not_ let herself be charmed by him. She would, after all, be leaving as soon as her mother was able to rescue her.

It was, however, getting harder and harder to reject Draco's advances. The throne he had made specially for her had been beautiful, and she could tell that he had spent much time thinking about it. She couldn't help but feel a small tugging at her heart each time she rejected him.

She tried to convince herself that he was only looking for a trophy wife and that the gifts he continually showered her only proved that he did not really know her at all. He was only in love with her because of her supposed beauty.

But then, _oh but then_, he had walked up to her as she explored his grounds and had been so eager and happy that it had taken all of her willpower to stiffen and act as if his touch did not affect him.

He had then placed his hand over her eyes and lead her gently to wherever he was taking her and she couldn't help but feel a thrill of anticipation and excitement.

When he had lifted his hand and she saw the garden — grown specially for _her_ — she didn't think about the fact that she would be leaving soon, that it was wrong to love him. She forgot all about her denials and doubts.

Because he _cared_.


	4. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

He watched from the window as Hermione walked around the garden, tending to her plants.

They were finally beginning to get along. She still refused to eat but they would sometimes talk as she walked around the garden. He even showed her the Elysian Fields and she had been happily surprised. She was now warmer to him and sometimes he almost swore that she had a light blush when he stood close to her.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought him back to reality and he turned to the person who had interrupted his thoughts. He was irritated when he saw that it was Harry, messenger of the gods.

"What do you want?" he asked irritably.

He snorted, "Don't think I wanted to come here. I'd rather stay far away from your dead domain, thank you very much. I'm here to take Hermione back. Minerva has been neglecting her crops and the mortals are desperately asking for help."

Draco felt a surge of anger when he heard the news. He'd bribed Cornelius to make sure that Hermione would stay with him forever and now this? But there was nothing he could do to stop them from taking her.

With a sigh of resignation he said, "I'll go inform her of the news."

He walked out of the room feeling as if a cloud of sadness was looming over him. He had been so close to getting her to fall in love with him, but she was now going to be taken away from him.

He now stood in a corridor that broke off into two other hallways. One led into the garden, where Hermione was, the other led to where Blaise was.

Making a split second decision, he walked towards the latter.

* * *

><p>Hermione was, as per usual, in her garden, absentmindedly humming a tune as she tended to her plants.<p>

Her mind however, was far from plants.

She was thinking about Draco, who had been kind to her for these past few months. She could almost say that she was falling in love with him. She dreamt of his silvery-blond hair and alluring steel gray eyes. His smile made her heart flutter and his laugh made her heart beat rapidly.

Living with him forever suddenly didn't seem so bad.

She looked up as she heard whistling. She saw a boy walking around her garden and eating a pomegranate. Her stomach almost growled upon seeing the fruit. Pomegranates had always been her favorite. The boy noticed her looking and walked over to her, extending the fruit out to her. She hesitated. She had refused to eat before until she was brought back home. However, her hand moved seemingly of its own accord and grabbed a handful of seeds. She ate one...two...three...four...five...six.

Almost immediately after she had eaten the seeds, she heard footsteps behind her and turned around to see Harry, messenger to the gods. The boy ran away upon seeing him but she paid him no heed. She smiled up at Harry, who had been her friend before she was kidnapped.

"Harry! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Hello 'Mione, I'm here to bring you back to your mum."

"Oh," Hermione couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness as she thought that she would never get to see her garden again. Or Draco. "Alright."

She pasted a smile on her face and Harry brought her back to Mount Olympus.

* * *

><p>As she flew away with Harry, Blaise ran to Draco.<p>

"Did you do it?" Draco asked eagerly.

Blaise nodded, "She ate six."

Draco frowned, "Not as much as I hoped, but I suppose it'll do."

He smiled, it was time to go to Mount Olympus.

* * *

><p>When Hermione arrived, she was surprised to see Draco there as well.<p>

"Draco? What are you doing here?" she asked.

He smiled, "You'll see."

Bewildered, she walked alongside him as they reached Cornelius' throne.

Minerva was standing beside it, and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her daughter and she enveloped her in a hug.

Cornelius cleared his throat, "Well, as it seems Hermione is now safe and sound back home, everything is settled. She will forever reside here with Minerva."

It was now Draco's turn to clear his throat and all eyes turned to him as he did.

"I have to disagree with you there, Cornelius," he said smoothly, "you see, I think you'll find that Hermione ate six seeds of a pomegranate fruit while residing in my realm. By law, she should reside in the Underworld forever, but I'll be generous and only make it half a year."

Everyone gasped as they now turned to Hermione, who looked equally shocked and looked down.

Pomegranate juice stained her hands like blood.


	5. Six Months

It had been six months since he had last seen her. Each day he was counting down until he would see her again. Finally, Hermione was coming back to him.

During those six months, he had been working on another surprise for her. He hoped dearly that she would like it.

Hermione couldn't help but feel slightly excited at the prospect of seeing Draco again. She had missed him during the months she had stayed with her mother and had wondered during the times she spent exploring her meadow again, whether or not he was watching her.

She reassured her mother once again that she would be fine and then turned to Harry who would be bringing her to the Underworld. When she arrived, Draco was already standing outside, waiting for her.

Her heart fluttered as he smiled at her, and she followed him inside. He led her down a series of hallways that she was unfamiliar with and was sure that this was not the route to her bedroom.

"Where are we going?" she asked eventually, dying of curiosity.

"You'll see." he answered cryptically, and she huffed in frustration.

Finally he stopped at a set of French double doors. He paused dramatically before he pushed them open to reveal a library. Hermione gasped in delight at the sheer amount of books.

Turning to him, she threw her arms around him, "I love you!" she said as she was swung around.

He pulled back and replied, "About time."

Without further ado, he kissed her.

She was refuting her past statement.

If there was anything that could grow in winter, it was love.


End file.
